Printing press



H. N. DURHAM PRINTING PRESS Ma rch 22, 1938.

Filed May 9 1935 A TTORNEYS.

scented [PATENT OFFICE PRINTING PRESS Hobart N. Durham, Munsey Park, t, .N. Y., assignor to The Goss Printing-Press Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of nois . Application May 9, 1935, Serial No. 20,583

21 Claims.

The present invention relates to printing presses and more particularly to a novel and improved rotary folding mechanism adapted for use with high speed newspaper presses.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, construction, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawing, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrates one embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serves to explain the principles of the invention.

The single figure of'the drawing is a diagrammatic sectional view of an illustrative folding mechanism in accordance with the present invention.

The present invention has for its object the provision of a novel and improved high speed rotary folding mechanism which is particularly adapted for use with high speed rotary newspaper presses. A further object of the invention is the provision of a, simplified rotary. folding mechanism having fewer operating parts and which is less expensive in its construction than those now generally employed. Still another object 'of the invention is the provision of a high speed rotary folding mechanism in which the tucking blade, heretofore almost universally used, is rendered unnecessary, and which mechanism may operate on webs or sheets.

In accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a. folding cylinder and cooperating cutting cylinders between which the web or associated webs is cut into sheet lengths, and the folding cylinder is provided with means for taking the lead end of the web and holding it for a portion of a revolution againstthe surface of the folding cylinder. Means are provided for releasing the holding means and for stopping the lead end of the associated webs while the body of the associated webs continues to feed in the direction of travel of the cylinder. Other means are provided for holding the associated webs substantially to the shape of the folding cylinder throughout the major portion of the length of'thesheets to be cut therefrom and except for a small distance adjacent to a pair of folding-off rollers. These rollers are driven at a peripheral speed slightly in excess of the peripheral speed of the folding cylinder, so that when the lead end of the webs or sheets is stopped, the body of the webs or sheets continues to move forward, buckles and the sheets are fed into the bite of the foldingofl rollers which removes them from the cylinder and moves them toward suitable delivery mechanism. In order to. facilitate buckling of the sheets air is introduced between the cylinder and the collected sheets at and adjacent to the proposed folding line, and in addition, the sheets are preferably creased mid-way of their length, that is, along the proposed fold line.

It will be understood that the foregoing gen eral description and the following detailed description as well, are exemplary and explanatory of the invention but are not restrictive thereof.

Referring now in detail to the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, as shown inthe accompanying drawing, there is provided a folding cylinder l0 substantially two sheet lengths in circumference, and a closely adjacent cutting cylinder H driven at the same peripheral speed as the folding cylinder and of an integral number of sheet lengths in circumference. The longitudinally folded, and if desired slit, web or associated webs l2 are drawn downwardly by the drawing rolls 13 so that they are fed. to the point of contact between the cylinders l0 and II, at substantially the same speed as the peripheral speed of these cylinders.

Cutting cylinder H is provided with a radially projecting blade iii of conventional construction adapted to seat within the female cutting blocks "5 mounted on folding cylinder l0 and which are spaced a sheet length apart as measured on the circumference of the folding cylinder l0. Means are preferably provided for introducing for maintaining air between cylinder l0 and the sheets along and adjacent to the proposed fold line, and said means are likewise also utilized for creasing the sheets along the proposed fold line. Accordingly a blade I4 is made to project slightly from the periphery of cylinder l0 along the proposed fold line, and would act by itself to hold the sheets slightly away from the cylinder and admit the air along either side thereof beneath the sheets.

The sheet taking means on the folding cylinder ID, for taking the leading and of the web or associated webs, comprise axially alined series of impaling pins i3 carried by arms l3 mounted on pin shafts 20 which are rotatably iournalled in the folding cylinder l0. At one end of each shaft 20 is provided an arm 2| carrying cam roller 22 which runs in the cam track 23 of a stationary pin actuating cam Justable on the folder frame so that the timing of the pins may be varied.

Means are provided for conforming the paper to the cylindrical shape of the folding cylinders ill, and as embodied, comprise series of relatively narrow spaced-apart sheet guides having curved inner faces which are positioned concentrically with respect to the folding cylinder I0. Sheet guides 30 and 3i are mounted on a supporting shaft 32 while sheet guides 33, 34, and 34' are mounted on their supporting shafts 33 and 35'. These guides are preferably held in the position shown in Figure 1 during the operation of the press by set screws or other suitable means. Guides 33, 34, and 34' extend from a point closely adjacent to the point of cutting and between the folding cylinder in and cutting cylinder II to a point above folding roller 33, and folding roller 36 is provided with circumferential grooves to receive the ends of guides 34'. The ends of guides 3| are similarly received within circumferential grooves on the folding roller 31.

Folding rollers 36 and 31 are rotatably mounted closely adjacent to the lower part of the folding cylinder in and are yieldingly mounted and resiliently urged towards' each other so as to tightly grip and feed the folded sheets as the sheets are folded oil from the cylinder by these rollers. Rollers 36 and 31 are driven at a peripheral speed slightly in excess of that of the folding cylinder l0, and roller 33 is driven in the opposite angular direction to cylinder ill, while roller 31 is driven in the same angular direction as folding cylinder i0. At the point of contact between rollers 33 and 31 the rollers are travelling in the same peripheral direction.

Means are provided for stopping the lead end of the sheet or associated sheets at a point beyond the folding rollers 33 and 31 and almost a half sheet length from these rollers. For this purpose, stop 4| may be mounted at the upper ends of sheet guides 30 and is directed inwardly towards the cylinder surface and closely adjacent thereto, being spaced however to permit passage of the creasing blades i4.

Means are also provided for lifting the associated sheets from the impaling pins I 3 and for this purpose small bifurcated fingers 33 overlie the pins H, are pivoted on the cylinder and connected to pin arms l3 by links 33. As the pins it are retracted, the fingers 33 are lifted projecting the lead end of the sheets against stop 4|.

If desired, means may be provided beyond the cutting cylinder H for forwarding the sheets after the lead end of the sheets has been released by the impaling pins l3, and for this purpose axially alined sections of a feed roller 42 are rotatably mounted and yieldingly pressed towards the surface of the folding cylinder l0, rollers 42 being positioned between the cutting cylinder Ii and the-folding roller 33. The spaced guides 34 may be positioned between the several sections of the feed roller 4!. Roller 42 is also recessed to cooperate with creasing blades 14', is preferably a half page in circumference and is driven at paper speed from the cylinder I3.

24, fixed to and anguiarly ad- In the operation of the illustrative embodiment of the invention, the associated webs l2 have been printed, associated, longitudinally folded or slit and are fed towards the point of cutting by means of the drawing rollers I3, the speed of the webs if being substantially the same as the peripheral speed of the cylinders l0 and I i. The associated webs I! are cut by cutting knife I! and the lead end of the web is impaled by the pins 13 immediately above the point of cutting. As the folding cylinder in continues to rotate, the lead end of the web is moved in a clockwise direction, the sheets are creased along the line where they are to be folded, and when the lead end of the web is immediately below the stop 4i, cam 23 withdraws the impaling pins l8, thereby freeing the lead end of the associated webs 12. The portion of the webs between the stop 4i and the cutting cylinders ll continues to travel by reason of the inertia of the paper, and the continued feeding of the webs by the cutting cylinder II by its pressing the webs against the folding cylinder l0. During this time, the webs are confined against the surface of the folding cylinder and held substantially concentric therewith by means of the inner curved surfaces of the spacedapart guides 30, 3|, 33, and 34.

When the lead end of the web comes to rest against the stop 4|, the associated webs are circumferentially compressed, that is, lengthwise of the webs, and the webs being already creased and in a curved form, tend to move radially of the folding cylinder i0 under the influence of the longitudinal inertia compression of the webs as well as due to the centrifugal force developed by the mass and angular movement of the webs. This action causes the sheet to buckle exactly at its mid-portion and transversely of the web, as shown at 45, this buckle occurring immediately above the bite of the folding rollers 38 and 31. As the buckle 45 enlarges, the outer surface of the webs engages the surface of folding rollers 36 and 31, causing the buckle to be fed between the rollers, thereby folding and creasing the sheets. By properly positioning the the stop 4i, substantially in the position shown in Figure 1, the line of transverse fold can be positioned accurately midway between the ends of the sheet. Approximately at the time the line of fold 45 is firmly gripped between the folding rollers 36 and 31, the webs are cut by the blade [5, thereby severing the folded sheets from the web and forming a new lead end of the web which is impaled by the next set of impaling pins i3. Continued rotation of the folding rollers 36 and 31 causes the forward half of the sheet to be reversely fed while the trailing half of the sheet continues to feed in the same direction, and the folded group of associated sheets is fed from the folding cylinder I0 between the folding rollers 36 and 31 and is thereby conveyed to suitable delivery mechanism (not shown) The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific mechanism shown and described but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What I claim is:--

1. A high speed rotary folding mechanism including in combination a sheet carrying cylinder, sheet taking means mounted on said cylinder, a pair of folding-off rollers, and means-for buckling a plurality of sheets from said cylinder intween said cylinder and confiningmeans, and

means projectinginto the-pathway of said sheets, beyond the folding-off rollers to stop the angular movements of said sheets.

3. A high speed rotary folding mechanism including in combination means for cutting sheets from webs, a sheet carrying cylinder, a pair of folding-oil rollers, sheet confining means ad.1a-

cent to said cylinder, continuously acting means for forwarding sheets between said cylinder and confining means and a stop projecting into the pathway of said sheets to stop the angular advance thereof; said stops being positioned beyond said folding-ofl rollers.

4. A high speed rotary folding mechanism including in combination means for cutting a sheet from a web, a sheet carrying cylinder, a pair of folding-off rollers, sheet confining means adjacent to said cylinder, continuously acting means for forwarding a sheet on said cylinder, and a stop projecting into the path of the sheet beyond the folding-on rollers to stop the angular advance thereof.

5. A high speed rotary folding mechanism including in combination a sheet carrying cylinder, a pair of folding-oil rollers, sheet confining means adjacent to said cylinder, a cutting cylinder cooperating with the folding cylinder, a roller pressing the sheet against the cylinder to forward the sheet and a stop beyond the folding rollers for arresting angular advance of a sheet.

6. A high speed rotary folding mechanism in cluding in combination a sheet carrying cylinder,

a pair of folding-ofi rollers, sheet confining means adjacent to said cylinder, a cutting cylinder cooperating with the folding cylinder, sheet taking means on said carrying cylinder, a roller pressing the'sheet against the cylinder to forward the sheet and a stop at the end of' the confining means for arresting angular advance of a sheet.

'7. A rotary buckling folder including in combination a folding cylinder, sheet guides concentric therewith, folding-off rollers, a cutting cylinder, sheet taking means on said folding cylinder, actuating means therefor to release the lead end of sheets prior to cutting at their rear end, and a sheet stop positioned less than a semi-circumference of said cutting cylinder from the sheet cutting means.

8. A high speed rotary folding mechanism including in combination a sheet carrying cylinder, sheet taking means mounted on said cylinder, means for creasing a sheet on said cylinder, a pair of fold-off rollers and means for buckling a sheet from said cylinder and folding it along the crease.

9. A rotary buckling folder including in combination a folding cylinder, sheet guides concentric therewith, folding-oi! rollers, a cutting cylinder, sheet taking means on the folding cylinder, a sheet creasing blade on the folding cylinder, and a sheet stop for buckling a sheet 'along the crease and between the rollers.

' 10. A rotary folder including in combination a folding cylinder, sheet guides concentric there- ;fiif,ffold-pfl rollers, sheet forwarding means, a tj top against which the sheets are moved and means for projecting the sheets into said stop.

11. A high speed rotary folding mechanism including in combination a sheet carrying cylinder, sheet taking means mounted on said cylinder, a

pair of folding-off rollers, means for feeding sheets to said cylinder and means separate from folding-oil. rollers for stopping angular advance of the portion of the sheets in advance of the folding rollers and means for continuing the the path of movement of that portion of the sheets on the other side of the folding rollers. 12. A high speed rotary folding mechanism including in combination asheet carrying cylinder,

sheet taking means mounted on said cylinder, a pair of folding-oil rollers, means for feeding sheets to said cylinder and means separate from said sheet carrying cylinder and folding-oil rollers for stopping angular advance of the portion of the sheets in advance of the folding rollers and means for continuing the movement of that portion of the sheets on the other side of the folding rollers.

13. A rotary folding mechanism including in combination'a sheet carrying cylinder, sheet taking means thereon, a pair of folding-oil rollers, means for stopping the front half of a sheet or sheets on said cylinder while the sheets are free from said folding-off rollers to buckle the center of the sheet and bring the buckle into the bite of the folding-off rollers.

14. A rotary folding mechanism including in combination a sheet, collecting cylinder, sheet collecting means thereon, a pairof folding-off rollers, and means for engaging and stopping the front half of all the collected sheets to buckle the center of the group into the bite of the folding-off rollers.

15. A rotary folding mechanism including in combination a sheet collecting cylinder, sheet collecting means thereon, a pair of folding-off rollers, and a stop engaging the front end of all the collected sheets to buckle the center of the group into the bite of the folding-off rollers.

16. A rotary folding mechanism including in combination a sheet carrying cylinder, folding-off rollers, sheet confining means spaced from and concentric with. said cylinder and extending from said folding-off rollers toward the lead end of a sheet on the cylinder and means for buckling the center part of the sheet into the bite of said folding rollers including means-for stopping the lea half of said sheet.

17. A rotary folding mechanism including in combination a sheet carrying cylinder, folding-off rollers and means for buckling the central part of said sheet into the bite of the folding-oif-rollers comprising a stop for the front half of the sheet and means for confining the sheet spaced from said cylinder between the folding rollers and the head of the sheet.

18. A rotary folding mechanism including in combination two coacting cylinders, a web supply,

.impaling pins on one of said cylinders, cooperatmeans for maintaining air between said cylinder and a sheet thereon across a limited median part of the sheet, a pair of folding-oi! rollers, and means for buckling a plurality of sheets from said cylinder. I

20. A rotary folding mechanism including in combination a sheet carrying cylinder, sheet taking means thereon, a pair oi. folding-oi rollers. means for stopping the front half of a sheet or sheets on said cylinder while the sheets are free from said folding-of! rollers to buckle the center 0! the sheet and bring the buckle into the bite of the folding-of! rollers, and means for maintaining air between the cylinder and sheet at said buckling and iolding-ofl locus.

21. In a rotary buckling folder, a folding cylinder, folding-of! rollers, a curved stationary sheet guide concentric with said folding. cylinder, a roller pressing the sheet against the cylinder to forward the sheet and a stop projecting into the space between the guide and cylinder to arrest angular advance of a sheet.

HOBART N. DURHAM. 

